Transport: Railways Tractive effort, acceleration, and braking

The Mathematical Association 200 !

Esfuerzo Tractivo, aceleracion y frenado
Context
For a railway to operate efficiently and safely, its locomotives should be powerful
enough to accelerate their trains rapidly to the maximum allowed line speed, and the
braking systems must be able to bring a train reliably to a standstill at a station or
signal, even on an adverse gradient. Railway operators need to calculate train
accelerations and decelerations in order to plan their timetables, and signals must be
sited so as to allow adequate stopping distances for all the various passenger and
goods services that they are required to control.
In practice there are many different and complex considerations that must be included
in a realistic model of railway operation. Here, ust some of the simpler main issues
are identified and examined, in order to show how mathematical analysis can be used
to provide an indication of expected performance. !he data values used in the
examples "from #$%& do not refer to any specific operating company, locomotive or
rolling stock, but are chosen to give realistic illustrations of how practical equipment
might behave.
Tractive effort
!he force which a locomotive can exert when pulling a train is called its tractive
effort, and depends on various factors. For electric locomotives, which obtain their
power by drawing current from an external supply, the most important are'
weight the adhesion between the driving wheels and the track depends on the
weight per wheel, and determines the force that can be applied before
the wheels begin to slip(
speed up to a certain speed, the tractive effort is almost constant. )s speed
increases further, the current in the traction motor falls, and hence so
does the tractive effort.
!o characterise the power of their locomotives, manufacturers measure tractive effort
as a function of speed. !ests are often performed with the locomotive stationary but
resting on rollers, thereby avoiding the effects of air resistance and any imperfections
in the track.
!he data points in Figure $ show an example of the tractive effort of an electric
locomotive. In order to use this information easily in calculations of acceleration and
deceleration, it is helpful to develop an approximation which covers the speed range of
interest, but has a simple mathematical form. *ne possible technique is piecewise-
0
!0
20
"0
0
#0
$0
0 # !0 !# 20 2# "0 "# 0 # #0
%peed &m's(
T
r
a
c
t
i
v
e

e
f
f
o
r
t

o
r

)
r
a
g

&
k
*
(
T+ Meas,rement
T+ Appro-imation
)rag
Figure 1
!ractive effort and drag
as a function of speed

Algebra and functions
Differentiation
Integration
Tractive effort, acceleration, and braking Transport: Railways
2 The Mathematical Association 200
polynomial approximation + the speed range is split into several contiguous intervals,
in each of which the tractive effort is represented by a polynomial function. For the
example shown, a good representation can be obtained by using three speed segments,
and a linear approximation for tractive effort on each'
%, ,- . . /, # -/- 00011
% . . /, / . , # $,,1 -2$11
% / . , 1 # -1111 & "
< =
< =
< =
v v
v v
v v P
where P is the tractive effort in newtons, and v is the speed in metres per second. !his
is shown as a solid line in the Figure.
Drag
Inevitably, a moving train exerts a drag on the locomotive propelling it. !his force,
which opposes the motion, comes from a variety of sources, the most important being
friction in the axle bearings, air resistance, and resistance from the rail as the wheels
roll along it. Railway operators estimate drag from experiments which measure the
force needed to keep a train moving at a constant speed. 3olynomials can again be
used to approximate the variation of drag with speed, and it is generally agreed in the
railway industry that a quadratic function often suffices over the full range, although
the coefficients used will vary from railway to railway and with train type. )s an
example, the drag might be given approximately by'
, - . 0 /1 /111 & "
/
v v v Q + + =
where Q is the drag in newtons, and v is the speed in metres per second. !his is
shown as the dashed line in Figure $.
Brake force
!he brake force available depends on two factors'
$. the adhesion between the rail and the wheels being braked, and
/. the normal reaction of the rail on the wheels being braked "and hence on the
weight per braked wheel&
4enerally, it is specified as a fraction ", say& of the total weight of the train'
mg B =
) typical value for is 1.1.
Train dynamics
!he dynamics of a train moving with speed v along a track inclined at an angle to
the hori5ontal are determined by the forces shown in Figure /.

Here,
Algebra and
functions
Quadratic functions
and their graphs
mg
Q(v) + B
N
v
f
P(v)

Figure 2
Forces acting on a train
on a track with
inclination 6
Transport: Railways Tractive effort, acceleration, and braking
The Mathematical Association 200 "
& "v P is the tractive effort of the locomotive(
& "v Q is the drag(
B is the brake force(
mg is the weight of the train(
N is the reaction of the track.
7y 8ewton9s second law of motion, the acceleration f is given by'
sin & " & " mg B v Q v P mf =
!his equation can be used to derive a number of relationships that are important to
different aspects of railway operation. :ome of these are considered in the following
sections.
Maximum speed as a function of gradient
) train reaches its maximum speed when available tractive effort ust balances the
sum of drag and downhill gravitational force, reducing the acceleration to 5ero.
;onsequently, the maximum speed is found by solving'
1 & " & " = mg v Q v P
where sin is the gradient.
:ince the approximation to & "v P is linear within each segment, and that for & "v Q is
quadratic, the calculation of maximum speed for a particular gradient reduces to the
solution of a quadratic equation. However, in order to determine which segment of
the tractive effort approximation should be used for a given gradient, it is useful first
to establish a set of gradient values < =
i
whose corresponding maximum speeds are
equal to the transition speeds
i
v between segments. :pecifically'
( ) mg v Q v P
i i i
& " & " =
!hen'
% , # n calculatio for segment use
$ $ i i i i
v v

< <
Figure 0 shows the results of calculations for a train of total weight >2- tons. Here,
gradient is given in percent + the amount in metres the track rises for every hundred
metres traversed. )n alternative convention is to specify it reciprocally + the distance
in metres along the track for a rise of one metre "e.g. $ in -1 is equivalent to /?&.
Figure 3
@aximum speed as a
function of track
gradient
20
2#
"0
"#
0
#
#0
0.0 0.2 0. 0.$ 0./ !.0 !.2 !. !.$ !./ 2.0
0radient &1(
M
a
-
i
m
,
m

s
p
e
e
d

&
m
'
s
(
Tractive effort, acceleration, and braking Transport: Railways
The Mathematical Association 200
Braking distance
!o calculate how long it will take for a train to come to rest when the locomotive
power is cut off and the brakes are applied, and how far it will travel in this time, set
1 & " = v P . :ince acceleration, f, is rate of change of velocity, a differential equation'
mg v Q B
dt
dv
m = & "
describes the motion, and, once the initial speed is given, defines v as a function of
time t.
:ince the braking force B is essentially a constant "A mg &, independent of speed, the
differential equation can be integrated by separation of variables, leading to'
.
& " & "
1
1

=
+ +
T
V
dt
v Q mg
mdv


Remembering that the drag Q"v& is approximated by a quadratic function of speed'
, & "
/
/ $ 1
v q v q q v Q + + =
it becomes clear that the braking time T required from speed v is obtained as the
integral'

+ +
=
v
c ! a!
d!
v T
1
/
& "
where'
. & " B ( B ( B
1 $ /
+ + = = = g m q c m q m q a
)ppendix $ shows how this integral can be expressed in terms of standard functions.
From this result, a further integration is needed to recover the distance travelled as a
function of time. ) simpler alternative is to calculate the braking distance directly by
writing'
ds
dv
v
dt
ds
ds
dv
dt
dv
f = = =
in the original equation, to give'
mg v Q B
ds
dv
mv = & "
which is a relation between distance s and speed v.
!his differential equation can also be integrated by separation of variables, leading to'
.
& " & "
1
1

=
+ +
"
V
ds
v Q mg
mvdv


and hence the braking distance " required from speed v is obtained as the integral'

+ +
=
v
c ! a!
!d!
v "
1
/
& "
where again
. & " B ( B ( B
1 $ /
+ + = = = g m q c m q m q a
)ppendix / shows how this integral can be expressed in terms of standard functions.
Integration
Analytic solution of first
order differential equation
with separable variables
Integration
Analytic solution of first
order differential equation
with separable variables
Differentiation
hain rule
Transport: Railways Tractive effort, acceleration, and braking
The Mathematical Association 200 #
:ince braking time and distance depend both on initial speed and the gradient of the
track, there are various summary presentations that provide useful information.
)s an example, Figure , shows the distance needed to brake to a standstill as a
function of the track gradient, calculated for a range of different initial speeds.
Time spent accelerating to required speed
Cach stop that a train makes during its ourney involves three phases' braking to a
standstill, remaining stationary to set down and pick up passengers, and accelerating to
the required line speed. )n appropriate allowance for the time taken for each of these
phases, as well as other braking and acceleration manoeuvres "e.g. to traverse a set of
points& must be included when drawing up realistic timetables. !he previous section
considered time taken for braking( calculation of the time taken in acceleration is
similar, but somewhat more involved because of the piecewiseDlinear approximation
to the variation of tractive effort with speed.
:etting 1 = B produces the differential equation'
mg v Q v P
dt
dv
m = & " & "
which, once the initial speed is given, defines v as a function of time t.
:ince the tractive effort & "v P is a function of speed only, the differential equation can
be integrated by separation of variables, leading to'
.
& " & "
1 1

=

T V
dt
mg v Q v P
mdv

7ecause the approximation to & "v P is a piecewiseDlinear function of speed, and the
drag Q"v& is approximated by a quadratic function of speed, the time T required to
accelerate to speed v can be obtained by splitting the motion into segments. )
transition between segments is required when the speed reaches one of the breakpoint
speeds in the piecewiseDlinear approximation for & "v P .
For each segment, the elapsed time and the distance travelled can be expressed as'

+ +
=
f
s
v
v
c ! a!
d!
v T
/
& "

+ +
=
f
s
v
v
c ! a!
!d!
v "
/
& "
0
200
00
$00
/00
!000
!200
!00
!$00
22.0 2!.# 2!.0 20.# 0.0 0.# !.0 !.# 2.0
0radient &1(
%
t
o
p
p
i
n
g

d
i
s
t
a
n
c
e

&
m
(
#
0
"#
"0
2#
3nitial %peed
&m's(
Figure 4
:topping distance as a
function of gradient for a
range of initial speeds.

Tractive effort, acceleration, and braking Transport: Railways
$ The Mathematical Association 200
where
s
v and
f
v are, respectively, starting and finishing speeds for the segment, and
the parameters'
( ) ( ) . B ( B ( B
1 1 $ $ /
g m q p c m q p m q a = = =
all remain constant throughout the segment. !he two integrals are again of the type
considered in )ppendices $ and /, and so can be expressed in terms of standard
functions. !he total time or distance needed to accelerate to a given speed is found by
summing over the segments.
Dealing wit canges in track gradient
4enerally, the gradient is a piecewiseDconstant function of distance along the track
+ an example is shown in Figure -, which refers to part of the EF GestD;oast main
line #/%.
!o deal with this, the analysis for both braking and acceleration calculations can be
further segmented, with transitions between segments corresponding to instants when
the train reaches a position on the track at which the gradient changes. )s an example,
Figure 2 shows a graph of speed against time for acceleration from rest over the given
track profile, calculated using the tractive effort of Figure $.
0
#
!0
!#
20
2#
"0
"#
0
#
#0
0 !00 200 "00 00 #00 $00 400 /00
Time &s(
%
p
e
e
d

&
m
'
s
(
220
0
20
0
$0
/0
!00
0 # !0 !# 20 2# "0 "#
)istance from reference point &km(
5
e
i
g
h
t

a
b
o
v
e

r
e
f
e
r
e
n
c
e

p
o
i
n
t

&
m
(
"6"
!06/
#0/
""/
""#
7
"""
/!2
Figure 5
Hertical profile of track.
Cach segment is labelled
with its reciprocal
gradient.
Figure 6
:peed against time for
given length of track.
Transport: Railways Tractive effort, acceleration, and braking
The Mathematical Association 200 4
!ources
$. Iata provided by Hince 7arker, @odelling ;onsultant, formerly at )lstom
!ransport
/. B# main-line gradient profiles, I:78 1DJ$$1D1>J-D/
"cknowledgement
!hanks to Richard :tanley and colleagues at )lstom !ransport for their comments that
helped correct a draft version of the article.
"ppendices# Evaluation of integrals
$ %ntegration of reciprocal quadratic polynomial
% # & , , , , "
/ " $
x
x
$ "
x x
c x ax
dx
x x c a %
"
$
>
+ +
=


"tep &' Grite the denominator in the form'
( ) ( ) ac a a x a , with , , B / B
/ / /
= +
and check the value of the discriminant .
i& 1 < complex roots( no singularities
ii& 1 = double real root(
/
& "

singularity at a x / B
$
=
iii& 1 > real roots( two
$
& "

singularities at ( ) a x /
/ , $
=
In case "iii&, for the location of the singularities, use'
( )
( )
=

= >

c
x
a

x
/
(
/
' 1
/ $

( )
( )
a

c
x
/
(
/
' 1
/ $
+
=
+
= < ,
to minimise loss of accuracy through numerical cancellation.
"tep (' ;heck that the range of integration does not include a singularity.
In case "ii&'
" $
x x x x < <
$ $
or
In case "iii&'
/ $ / $
or or x x x x x x x x
$ " " $
< < < < <

"tep )' ;arry out the integration by making the substitution'
a x ! / B + = .
3utting = # , the results are'
i&
$
"
x
x
#
ax
#
%
(

\
| +
=
/
arctan
/

ii&
$
"
x
x
ax
%
(

=
& / "
/

iii&
$
"
x
x
# ax
# ax
#
%
(

\
|
+ +
+
=
/
/
ln
$

Integration
!ntegration using partial
fractions
Algebra and functions
ompleting the square for
a quadratic function"

Algebra and functions
#he discriminant of a
quadratic function"
Integration
!ntegration by
substitution"
Tractive effort, acceleration, and braking Transport: Railways
/ The Mathematical Association 200

& %ntegral of x times reciprocal quadratic polynomial

+ +
=
$
"
x
x
$ "
c x ax
xdx
x x c a *
/
& , , , , "
For this integral, carry out the checks in steps $ and / above, and then write'
a a ax x / B / B & / " + =
to give'
& , , , , "
/
& log"
/
$
/
$ "
x
x
x x c a %
a

c x ax
a
*
$
"

+ + =